Circles the Trilogy (Secrets and Lies)

by Carla Buchanan

  I shrug. “There’s nothing to say. We talked. Daryn’s firm is investing his money and he’s met my father. I guess Atlanta is much smaller than I than I’d like to think.”

  “Come on. I know him better than that. He never asks women to call him Quin. He only allows me to do it because he thinks of me as a little sister. The only other people that call him Quin are members of his family. You had to have done something to make an impression on him,” she says narrowing her eyes at me as if I’m holding back some big secret.

  The only thing I’m holding back is confessing how attracted I am to the man and how he had me all hot and tingly and thinking about wild sex. I love Neesa, but I could never admit those things to her. She’d make it her mission to try and hook me up with the man, knowing that I’m engaged to Daryn.

  “I will say this… The man was unlike I expected him to be. I’m pretty sure I’d stereotyped him to be this slang-slinging thug with a bunch of groupies surrounding him that have no self-respect. I am not ashamed to admit that I was wrong. He sat there and talked to me and didn’t even look up when Roc shooed away over a half-dozen women who tried to stop and talk to him. We had a decent conversation and he told me that I was ‘interesting’… whatever that means. I only had to remind him once that I’m engaged. I guess I expected him to be all over me, but as he said to you last night, he was the perfect gentleman.” I take a sip of the coffee Neesa sits in front of me. “I was impressed.”

  A loud whoop invades the kitchen followed by an, “Ooooooh! My girl has a thing for a roughneck!” She then doubles over in laughter.

  I laugh aloud at her animated response. “I sure you’re aware that Quinton Ramsey is far from a roughneck unless you’re comparing him to Daryn Bryant. If that’s the case then you may as well say he’s a gun-toting thug out to rob somebody.”

  We both laugh hysterically at that picture. Quin may be rough around the edges, but he is nowhere near what I described. He has a good head on his shoulders from what I can tell and most of the image that the media portrays is just hype. I’m sure he does nothing to correct the image since that image is what sells records and keeps his name – and the names of his artists – out there.

  “By the way… I don’t have a thing for Quin. You know I don’t listen to too much Hip Hop music so I’ve only heard what the media puts out about him. I didn’t even realize you worked for him until last night. Oh and why am I just finding that out now?” I take a bite of my omelet and moan. Neesa is a great cook and I can barely boil water. Every now and then she tries to teach me, but I end up setting off the fire alarm every time so we’ve not explored my cooking abilities lately. Daryn has a housekeeper that cooks his meals and cleans his home, so when I’m at his place I don’t have to worry about potentially poisoning Daryn or burning down his house.

  “I didn’t really work for him. I was working for an Indy label under Watch Records. I invited this group to an open mic night and ever since then, he’s been keeping an eye on me. I guess you could say I was interning for the head of A & R as he kept an eye on me, though the ass I worked for treated me more like a secretary. Quin didn’t think I was being used to my full potential and took me under his wing. He let me sit in on meetings to learn more about the business and he must’ve been impressed by my input because after nearly two years of working for the Indy label and two months in the executive offices, I got my promotion. I’m sooo excited, Sasha. Last night was my first scouting event since getting my promotion. That’s why I had to leave you alone for so long. Sorry again about that,” Neesa said as she finished off her omelet. “But hey, if I’d known you were chattin’ it up with HNIC then I would’ve stayed away longer.”

  I shake my head. “You are crazy. I’m glad you came back when you did. Honestly… If you repeat this, I’ll deny that I said it, but I think Quin was slowly putting me under some kind of spell. I’ve never felt like that around a man before,” I finally admit. I’d told myself that I was going to keep my feelings to myself, but if I can’t tell my best friend, then who can I tell.

  Her reaction makes me beam. She starts clapping her hands and jumping up and down like a kid with a new toy. “I bet he asks about you Monday when I get to work. Like I said before… I’ve never seen him react to a woman like that. He’s pretty dismissive of the groupies that come on to him.” I look at her with a shocked expression. She’s just lumped me in with groupies and gold diggers. She catches on and backtracks. “Oh… Not that you’re a groupie or anything, Sasha. It’s just that’s what I usually call females that approach him. You have no idea the effect you had on him. The man asked you to call him by the name his mother gave him. That’s completely unheard of.”

  “Well, I’m not going to read into it too much. I’m sure he has plenty of women he can call on without going after some engaged, challenging socialite. I’m merely a novelty to someone like him. It’s the thrill of the chase and once he gets me to cave in, then he’ll go in search of his next victim. Anyway I don’t think I could handle the women who are always after him and the fast paced lifestyle he lives,” I say though deep down I hope this isn’t the case. I do not intend to get involved with Quinton Ramsey, but the idea that he might want me thrills me to the depths of my soul.

  Four - Surprises

  My conversation with Neesa has takes my mind off the dress debacle and my run in with Daryn last night. It makes me forget about the mildly insulting note Daryn left on my pillow. I’m able to take a shower, make myself up, and pin my hair into my usual bun at the nape of my neck without any animosity towards Daryn. I hang my soft pink, conservative, silk Tory Burch belted dress on my vintage dressing screen and set my nude Tory Burch pumps on the floor. I look at the outfit, satisfied with my choices for the evening and go out to the living room in my silk robe to relax until I need to get dressed for the evening.

  I call out to Neesa, but she doesn’t answer so I assume she’s left to go to her bi-weekly hair and nail session. I grab my iPad and get comfortable on the couch. As I go to open my Kindle app to resume reading the romantic comedy I bookmarked a few days ago, I’m interrupted by a knock on the door. I’m not expecting anyone and as I look down at my attire I groan. No doubt, I will get a tongue lashing if I open the door with my robe on and Daryn is standing on the other side. I take my chances since more than likely Daryn would just let himself in after the stunt I pulled yesterday. I look out the peephole and see Cleveland holding a bouquet of Calla Lilies.

  Opening the door, I gasp because there have to be at least five or more arrangements sitting at his feet along with the one he holds in his hands. I pull my robe tighter and reach for the bouquet in his hands. “Cleveland! You should’ve called. I would’ve come down to get these. Who’s at the desk?”

  “It’s no problem Ms. Ellis, Drake just relieved me. Plus, there was a hefty tip in it for me if I made sure you received these personally. Those were the specific instructions left by the delivery man along with the tip.”

  “Are these for Aneesa?”

  “No ma’am. They’re all for you. Would you like me to bring them in for you?”

  I realize I’m standing there like a half-dressed idiot while the hall looks like a flower shop so I step aside and allow Cleveland to start bringing in the flowers. “Oh, I’m sorry. Come right on in. You can put them on the breakfast bar and then I’ll figure out where I want to place them later.”

  “Sure thing.” He starts to bring in the arrangements and casually throws out, “That man of yours must really love you or has a lot to apologize for because I don’t think we’ve ever had this many bouquets delivered at once.”

  I think for a minute. Would Daryn do something like this? Maybe our night had an effect on him after all. He’s never sent me flowers without there being a special occasion so why would he start now. He’s never been one to admit he is wrong and if he did, he never admitted it with flowers. I’m stunned at the gesture and when Cleveland finally finishes, he hands me a sealed card. I flip the card
over and immediately know that these flowers aren’t from Daryn because the outside says ‘Society Girl’.

  Society Girl,

  I asked for a beautiful flower and the florist showed me the Calla Lily. She said that it’s a symbol of purity and is supposed to remind you of elegance and grace. I agree because it reminds me of you. I hope you think about the time we spent getting to know each other when you look at these bouquets. I sent enough so there would be reminders of me in every room of your home.

  Enjoy,

  Q

  “Oh. My. God,” I say as I look across the room to the multiple arrangements sent by Quin. I cannot imagine what prompted him to do something like this, but I’m completely taken aback by the gesture. No one has ever done something like this for me and I want to laugh and cry at the same time.

  I start distributing the arrangements throughout the apartment and as if he knew the layout of my apartment, there are arrangements for every room, including Neesa’s. There’s even the one for the table in the hallway. In total there are nine bouquets, each in a clear vase that allows you to see the perfectly green stems reaching deep into the water. I pick up my phone to call him and thank him, but I remember that we didn’t exchange numbers. I’m even more confused because it seems he knows where I live, but he also knows that I’m roommates with Neesa so he probably got the address from her personnel file, which is sort of illegal.

  I plop back on the couch and pick up where I left off in my book, but I’m unable to concentrate. I keep glancing at the table where I’ve set one of the arrangements and I can’t keep the giant smile off my face. He’s definitely accomplished his mission. There is no way I’ll be able to keep my mind off Quinton Ramsey as long as I look up my eyes land on these arrangements of Calla Lilies.

  As I bask in the beauty of the flower arrangements, there is another knock on the door. Before I make it over to look answer it, I hear a key in the lock. It opens and Daryn walks through the door as if he lives there. I’m scared because he always calls before he comes by. That’s one of the rules I’ve established since it would be rude for him to walk in if Neesa was here alone or if she had company. But like I said before… My little trip to the club has him thinking that he needs to keep a closer eye on me.

  “Daryn… You know you can’t just walk in here like this,” I say pulling my robe’s belt a little tighter. He ignores me and looks around at all of the flower arrangements. He looks at me and I see the question in his eyes. “Oh, they came not too long ago. Neesa’s boss… a… uh… congratulations on her promotion.” The lie slips off my tongue easily and I hope that my face doesn’t look too guilty. “You want something to drink?”

  Without waiting for him to answer, I glide into the kitchen. I need to slide the card into the drawer before he takes it upon himself to read it.

  “Sure, but I need you to get dressed. We have to stop by the office before we head over to the dinner party,” he says as he relaxes on the couch and turns on the flat screen.

  “Oh, really? I can just stay here and wait if you want.” I really hate going to his office. It’s boring and I’m usually left twiddling my thumbs while he talks business with some stuff-shirt that he has to appease. I especially hate going in there on a Saturday because those are the worst ones, the ones who think their money is more important than Daryn having a life outside the office. And it’s always Daryn that gets sent to take care of situations like this because obviously Peter Harris thinks that Daryn has nothing better to do.

  “No, no. It’s quite alright. We’ll probably head straight to the Harris’ afterwards and I don’t want to have to come all the way back over this way. It shouldn’t take too long. You know how it is with the clients who invest the big bucks. We have to be available for them at any time.”

  I walk over, hand him two fingers of his favorite scotch, and disappear into my room to get ready. I touch up my hair and makeup and slip on my dress and shoes. I put on Daryn’s favorite scent and emerge from the bedroom every bit the conservative little socialite wife-to-be.

  “I’m ready.” He looks at me and scrunches his face. I think I want to slap him because I know this is one of his favorite dresses for me to wear since it disguises the size of my butt, so I don’t understand what his problem is right now. “What? I thought this was the dress you liked.”

  “It’s not that. Go take your hair down. No more school teacher look. It makes you look old.”

  What the…

  I walk out mouthing obscenities. He’s always requested that I wear my hair pulled back because supposedly I look more ‘put together’ that way. He’s says dinner parties are not the place to be overtly sexy. Obviously after seeing me last night, he’s had some sort of epiphany and realizes he doesn’t want a younger version of his mother on his arm.

  Ten minutes later, I re-emerge from my bedroom with my layered hair flowing down my back in soft curls. I’m slightly less ticked off when Daryn smiles at the result.

  “I’m ready. Let me just grab my iPad so I can read while you handle your business.”

  ***

  The door of the elevator opens on the 30th floor of Daryn’s downtown office. We head straight to his office and I make myself comfortable on the leather couch and open my pink and green iPad case. I return to the book I’d been reading before the flowers and Daryn’s visit and I don’t even realize that Daryn has left to greet his client until I hear them talking.

  My heart drops to my stomach when I hear a deep, raspy voice that I would never be able to forget even if I tried. I start to panic realizing that I am about to come face-to-face with Quinton Ramsey after just seeing him last night. As I hear them approach the door, I try to appear as if I’m immersed in my book, but I know I will have to be introduced – or re-introduced – to Quinton so I brace for his imminent arrival.

  Daryn and Quinton walk through the door. I look up and try not to meet Quin’s gaze, but it’s impossible. He looks absolutely delicious in a heather grey v-neck t-shirt that skims his taut stomach muscles, dark designer jeans, and a pair of stark white tennis shoes that look like they’ve never been worn. He’s wearing the same platinum jewelry that he wore last night and has added a different pair of aviator sunglasses covering his eyes. The outfit, which seems so much like something I would imagine him wearing, is so sexy that I have to stop myself from licking my lips. I cross my legs to squeeze my thighs together to calm the ache that has developed in my core.

  In the light of day, I see that he isn’t as dark as I’d thought. He’s a nice shade of dark brown and has shaved. His skin is smooth; his hair is cut low as if he’s just left the barber. I want to reach out, feel the texture of his skin under my fingertips, and rub my hands along the fabric of his t-shirt so I can feel the six-pack I know he is hiding.

  I wonder how long I’ve been sitting there staring and snap my eyes back up to Daryn. Quinton flashes that arrogant, knowing smile as a clueless Daryn proceeds to give the introductions.

  “Come here, honey.” I walk over and in an utterly possessive move, Daryn snakes him arm around my waist. “Honey this is, Quinton Ramsey, one our most important clients. Quinton, this is my fiancée, Sasha Ellis.”

  I’m praying that Quinton doesn’t out me, but after confessing that Daryn would not have liked me to be at that club last night, I’m pretty confident that he won’t admit that I already know him. I reach out my hand to shake his and he removes his sunglasses and does the same. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Ramsey,” I say. We shake hands and he holds on to me for what I’m sure is a second too long, but Daryn doesn’t seem to notice. Now that he’s claimed me as his, I’m sure the only thing he’s focused on are dollar signs.

  “Same here,” Quinton says to me. I quickly back away from Daryn’s grasp and back over to the couch to gather my belongings.

  “Um… I’ll just get out of your way so –”

  “Oh, honey, no. Will you stay here and keep our guest company. I just need to go over to Peter’s office and gather
some files and print a few things off that are only on his computer. You don’t mind, right?”

  I know he isn’t really asking me, he’s telling me what he wants. I know this because he doesn’t even wait for me to answer before heading out the door to go to Peter’s office.

  Once he is sure Daryn is out of earshot, Quin mockingly says, “Yeah, honey, you don’t mind do you?” Then he laughs. He looks me over, taking in the conservative dress I’m wearing that is a definite one eighty from my attire on the previous evening. “It must be fate, Society Girl. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again, though I’d hoped. Did you get my delivery?”

  I look around as if someone might be listening to our conversation. I walk over to the floor-to-ceiling windows before I say anything. “You shouldn’t have done that. What if Daryn had been there? That would’ve been a disaster. He would’ve given me so much shit!”

  “My, my, my. My little Society Girl has a dirty mouth on her. I think I like it.”

  I turn away from the window and see that Quinton has crossed the room and is now approaching me. He’s about a foot away when he says, “I don’t hear you saying you didn’t like the flowers, so I assume they had the desired effect.”

  I turn back to the windows, take in a deep breath, and release it. I can feel the heat of him behind me and I get a whiff of fresh water and soap mixed with his own manly scent. I know he’s close. I’m afraid to turn around, knowing I’ll be dangerously close to him. “I… You know I can’t do this with you, Quin. I’m engaged and –”

  He’s right up against my backside now. He gets close to my ear and whispers, “The way I’ll have you screaming my name, you’ll forget all about your square fiancé. I can promise you that!”